Charlotte.com

Tops in TV, music, movies, other randomness

It’s good to fly
early in the morning. Although getting up at 5:45 a.m. is a pain, the ease with which traffic moves,
the abundance of parking at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport and the absence of a crowd there more than offset it.

I pull off I-485
onto Little Rock Road,
only mildly upset at the slower drivers who refuse to give up the left lane, and
see the sign everybody who uses the airport craves: ALL LOTS OPEN.

I put on my turn
signal and pull into the first lot I encounter, Satellite 2.

It’s closed.

I’m a little rusty.
I haven’t been on an airplane since March, when I flew to Detroit to watch Davidson play Wisconsin and then Kansas in the NCAA
basketball tournament.

The problem with
flying is that you never know what you’ll get. To me, the ideal flight is I’m
the only passenger on the plane. My second choice: I have an aisle seat, the
middle seat is open and, if there’s somebody in the seat next to the window,
they can’t talk, or don’t want to.

That’s how it
worked: the seat next to me was empty and the only word the woman next to the
window said was “Thanks” when, after we landed, I asked her if she had a bag
overhead I could hand to her.

But you can’t have
everything.

The woman in front
of me leaned way back in her seat. That’s her prerogative, and not surprising
when the airplane leaves a few minutes before 8 a.m.

She was tired. I wouldn’t do it, though, not if
there were somebody sitting behind me. I never have.

And two guys in the
row behind me, one of whom had worked 30 years for the government and the other
who was in the airline business, talked like radio personalities. They spoke as
if every word had import and they wanted to share them.

Mainly, in their
outdoor voices, they extolled the airline industry. They talked about what a
miracle it was that they could fly from Charlotte to San Diego for less than $300, which is a good deal, and they talked about the history of
aviation and, I think, the history of civilization. But about the time they got
to Mesopotamia, they quit.

I love Mesopotamia.

I did not hear them
again until we reached the California line.

When some people
recharge, they want to be part of a group. They want to immerse themselves in
humanity and conversation. They draw strength from it.

When I want to
recharge, I drop out. It’s as if there’s an offensive line between me and the
world. I like people. I just don’t like them all the time.

Whether you
recharge in a group or by yourself is the difference between being an extrovert
and an introvert, I’ve been told.

When the beverage cart came by, I asked for a
bottle of water. I think I read that drinks no longer are free, so I pulled out
my wallet. But the U.S. Airways flight attendant didn’t ask me for any money. A
few seconds later he returned. He asked for $2.

To be part of this Charlotte to San Diego miracle, I was happy to pay. Plus, the ice was free.

Hey, we’re passing over Tennessee. I think I see Nashville. All right, Vanderbilt, you beat South Carolina. But if
you have any guts you’ll stop ducking the state’s best team – Wofford.

Here are some of
the things you think of during a more than four hour flight.

The best five shows
on television are:

1 –
Californication.

2 – Weeds.

3 – Entourage.

4 – Prison Break.

5 – Curb Your
Enthusiasm.

The best movie I’ve
seen in a theater this year is “Pineapple Express.” It’s hilarious. The best
movie I saw in a theater last year was “Juno,” which was great, and it was set
it two places I used to live, Minneapolis and St. Cloud, Minn.,
which I didn’t know when I walked into the theater. It would have been great if
it had been set in Nashville.

The only movie I’ve seen in a theater this year is
“Pineapple Express” and the only movie I saw in a theater last year was “Juno.” I need to get out
more. But Movies on Demand and digital cable make it tough.

Speaking of movies,
my top 10 movies of all time are:

1 – Shane

2 – Cool Hand Luke

3 – Casablanca

4 – Hard Times

5 – The Godfather

6 – From Russia with Love

7 – The Graduate

8 – The Day the
Earth Stood Still

9 – Godfather II

10 – Dances with
Wolves

The best movies
I’ve seen in theaters the last few years are “Thank You for Smoking” and “Pan’s
Labyrinth.”

From now on, I
pledge to go to one movie a month. You’re my witness. I eat too much popcorn
and drink too much Coke, but that’s part of the experience.

Man, if I were
USAir, I would pop popcorn in the back of the plane, let the smell waft through
coach, and go down the aisle with the popcorn still popping atop a cart.

If I were greedy
I’d charge $5 a bag, if I wanted to make customers happy I’d charge $2. If I
wanted them to return, I’d give it away.

We are now passing
above Little Rock, Ark., I think.

“Bill! Bill
Clinton! Are you down there, Bill? I still like you, Bill!

Here are my NFL
picks, most of which are numbingly predictable.

New
England wins the AFC East, Dallas the NFC East.

Pittsburgh wins the AFC North, Minnesota the NFC North.

Indianapolis wins the AFC South, Carolina the NFC South.

San
Diego wins the AFC West, Arizona the NFC West.

Jacksonville is the AFC’s first Wild Card, New Orleans is the NFC’s.

Denver is the AFC’s second Wild Card, the New York Giants are the NFC’s.

Excuse me, we’re passing above Oklahoma.

“Oklahoma, I have nothing to say to you!”

Thanks.

OK, here are my top
10 bands or artists of all time. (I’m talking to you now, not to

Oklahoma. I don’t care
about Oklahoma.)

1 – Led Zeppelin

2 – U2

3 – Robert Johnson

4 – Bob Dylan

5 – The Rolling Stones

6 – Leadbelly

7 – Otis Redding (I don’t claim to know jazz,
but I have a CD, just him and his piano, and his work is staggering).

8 – Oscar Peterson

9 – The Replacements

10 – Son House

The beauty of opening day, whether it’s the NFL or any other season, is
the anticipation. The flight is full of jersey-wearing Panther fans, and they’ll
be giddy about all that the season and San Diego offer when they wake up.

There’s also a bonus to opening day.
There won’t be another preseason game until 2009.

I feel as if I can see Las Vegas from here. My younger son, Pete, lives there. He
was a college student who planned to major in English. But online gambling
interested him more than James Joyce did, and he dropped out to go to Casino College in Sacramento.

At 20, he was the youngest of the students. Joining him were men and
women in their 30s and 40s and 50s, folks that had tired of their careers, or
had them taken away, and were looking for something new.

Pete has lived in Las Vegas for more than a year, deals in some tournaments and works at a casino. I would
not trust my older son in Las Vegas,
but I do trust Pete.

“Hey, Pete, be careful!”

Finally, we hit the California line and prepare to land. I hear several “Go Panthers" around the plane. There cities
that make you smile when you land, and San Diego is one of them.